At a sturdy 6-foot-10 and close to 300 pounds, Isaiah Johnson isn’t hard to spot on the basketball court.

The Sudbury Five hope the former U.S. collegiate standout will make them harder to play against, as well, for the balance of the National Basketball League of Canada season.

The Five announced on Friday they had signed the 24-year-old centre from Cincinnati, Ohio, a graduate of the University of Akron and former Mid-American Conference Player of the Year, who’s expected to make his NBLC debut in a home game against the Cape Breton Highlanders on Saturday.

The Five also injected some Northern Ontario talent in the lineup in the form of 26-year-old guard Joey Puddister, a North Bay native and Nipissing University alumnus.

Both players joined the Five for practices this week.

“I love it here so far,” Johnson said with a smile. “Everybody has been very welcoming and I have had a chance to explore the city a little bit, too.

“I know a couple of the guys who are here, so I talked to them and they said it’s a really good situation to come in and play for a good program.”

Though Sudbury, with a record of 9-9, remains one of the league’s top-scoring teams with 2,031 points, the locals have struggled at times to contain their opponents’ biggest big men, whether Windsor’s DeAndre Thomas or St. John’s Glen Davis, a former NBAer.

Johnson, known by the nickname Big Dog while averaging 16.6 points and 7.1 rebounds as a senior at Akron, will be tasked lining up against such heavy hitters.

“Honestly, I don’t see it as pressure, it’s just something I have been doing since I was a young player,” said Johnson, who also has a year of professional experience in Sweden to his credit. “I just see it as a nice little opportunity to come in and showcase what I can do – tremendous inside presence, very good around the basket, and I also have a pretty unique skill where I’m a very good passer for a big guy. I just have to use all of that to help the team win.”

Logan Stutz, Sudbury’s head coach and general manager, was eager to add Johnson to the roster.

“First of all, he’s a great character guy,” Stutz said. “I’m really excited to have him here. He has accomplished a lot in his basketball career and now, we get a chance to have one of our own big guys. You see how the league is going a little bit bigger and we have to match up with that, and Isaiah’s a well-rounded player and a great person to have on the team.”

Stutz said Johnson will protect the basket at both ends of the floor and not only contain the opposition’s bigger threats on defence, but help control the middle of the court on offence.

“He’s raising the level of our team and that’s the ultimate goal,” Stutz said. “It’s where can we get better? He’s a piece that makes us better and that’s really why we went out and got him.

“He’s a very smart basketball player and that’s what we want to continue to play, smart basketball. He know when to pass, knows when to shoot, moves very well on his feet.”

The same can be said for Puddister, even if his skills are delivered in a different package. The six-foot guard also has a year of professional experience, having played in the Netherlands last season.

“Having another player from Northern Ontario is important for our fan base, for the community and for this team,” Stutz said. “He knows a lot of these guys, he’s friends with a lot of these guys and he’s a good fit. He has played in Europe, he was drafted to this league and it’s another great character move that raises the level of our team.”

Joey Puddister

Puddister certainly appeared comfortable amongst his new teammates and practice this week.

“It has been great,” Puddister said. “This team’s already got lots of talent, great chemistry, so I’m just here to keep that going.”

While primarily a point guard, he’s also a willing shooter who played a variety of roles during his time with Lease Rotterdam in the Dutch Basketball League, averaging 3.48 points per game and 1.4 assists.

“It was a really cool experience, basketball-wise and travelling,” he said. “Being from North Bay, a small town, getting to see another part of the world is really cool.

“The level is pretty high over there, as it is over here. It’s a different style over here, very athletic, a bit more scoring and a little longer games over here, but I’ll take away some of the physicality from that league and it will help me.”

He has already attended Five games and expects several friends and family to attend Saturday’s contest. “It’s great to be able to play right down the road from where you’re from,” Puddister said. I never thought I’d be able to play professional basketball anywhere near North Bay. “It’s great that family doesn’t have to fly nine hours as they do in Europe.”

Stutz expects guard Jaylen Bland to return from his injury on Saturday, rounding out a nearly full lineup. Only forward Travis Releford is expected to miss the contest, a precautionary move due to a muscle strain.